Metro Chief Financial Officer Carol Kissal must be seriously mistaken when she believes that the economy, not the transit agency's fare increases, is responsible for revenue shortfall. A large portion of Metro riders are federal employees, most of whom receive a large subsidy from the government to commute to work. And even if the subsidy doesn't cover an entire month's fare, federal employees need not spend much to cover the rest.
While I, along with the rest of the Metro riders, pay for the ride in full. Many of my fellow private sector employees have started driving or carpooling because the cost of riding Metro no longer outweigh the benefits. Furthermore, with Metro failing to replace it's ancient 1000-series cars actually makes driving to work a safer alternative.
Furthermore, the national capital region has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Almost all financial analysts agree that the DC area was mostly protected from the economic disasters faced by other areas of the country like California. Finally, tourism to DC is still high, as many families opt to take vacations within the country instead of flying internationally. Simply put, there is no evidence that the revenue shortfall is a result of the "poor" economy.
Metro fails to understand the basics of economics. Raising prices is going to decrease demand. That's exactly what's happening. Metro needs to start accepting responsibility that their greed has made the system unsustainable.
Michael Soh
Alexandria, VA
